Neil Patrick Harris sings . . . and redefines show business?

Remember the writer's strike? What a terrible time for TV fans. No new shows, more awful reality TV. It seems like nothing good came from that strike (aside from the whole "writers got a new contract" thing).

It's a three part mini-series starring Neil Patrick Harris (of Doogie Howser and Harold & Kumar fame) as a singing super villain who is forever foiled at his attempts to take over the world and too shy to ask out the girl he has a crush on. And if that's not revolutionary enough for you, it's going to be a straight to Internet release. Here what Whedon had to say:

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap - but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

The episodes will be streamed for free until July 20th. Then, Whedon will take them down and sell them as DVDs with tons of extra features. The cool thing is, this just might work.

Joss Whedon in one of those rare examples of a writer who has such a following that the idea of turning a profit on his creations without a major network behind him is entirely imaginable. But could other, lesser known but very talented folks pull off the same thing? That's the real edge of the seat thriller here.

And hey, if it does work, Dr. Horrible may actually take over the world . . . or at least his business model might.